On August 3rd, the tournament began at 9:30 AM. Today, the seeded teams would all start playing. After reviewing the schedule, Kudo asked Nakamura to lead the team to cheer for Hainan, as Nakamura had promised Otsu. Meanwhile, Kudo went to watch the game of Luo An, the seeded team in their half of the bracket. After observing the match, he focused on preparing for the upcoming game against Akizuki. Due to a scheduling conflict, he had Takamoto send someone to record the Mountain Kings' game for later analysis.
Both Hainan and Luo An swept their opponents by large margins, easily advancing to the Round of Sixteen.
After lunch, Kudo led the Shoyo team to the match venue early. The Shoyo vs. Akizuki game was scheduled to start at 1:30 PM, but another match was being played in the gymnasium beforehand. During halftime of that game, the Shoyo and Akizuki players took the court to warm up.
"Wow, that guy is so tall!"
"Yeah, he's probably 200 cm."
"I'm just not sure how strong he is."
"He's probably the tallest player in this year's tournament!"
"Such height is really rare in high school!"
Since Shoyo wasn't yet nationally famous, and their previous opponent, Kakuzuru, was also relatively unknown, Shoyo's first game hadn't drawn many spectators. Today, however, was different. Not only were the stronger teams playing, but Akizuki was also a well-known team nationwide. Although the gymnasium wasn't completely full, there were significantly more spectators than the day before.
After warming up, both teams retreated to their locker rooms as the earlier game resumed.
Inside Shoyo's temporary locker room, Kudo addressed the team:
"Alright, enough talk. Remember, your overall strength is superior to Akizuki's, so play with confidence. Stay steady, play like you do in practice, and bring your full strength to the court. Akizuki won't be able to handle you. You guys are strong!!!"
"Yes, we're strong!!!" the Shoyo team shouted in unison.
"Alright, it's almost time. Let's go out!"
"Yes!"
"Go, Akizuki! I came all the way from Tokyo to see you guys!!!"
"Go, Shoyo!!!"
"Shoyo will win!!!" Shoyo's cheerleaders continued to cheer passionately for their team.
After another warm-up, the match began.
"Next up, we have Tokyo Metropolitan Akizuki High School versus Kanagawa Prefecture Shoyo High School. On the green side is Shoyo, while the white side is Akizuki. The match will now begin!!!"
"Go, Akizuki!!!"
"Sugiyama, beat them!!!"
The jump ball was unsurprisingly won by Sugiyama, who passed the ball to Saionji. Following Kudo's instructions, Shoyo played steadily, just as they did in practice. Saionji passed the ball to Nakamura, who took a shot.
Was it a shot? No, the basketball sailed past the basket. Was it a miss? Just then, a big hand grabbed the ball and slammed it into the basket!
An airborne relay slam dunk!
Right from the start, Sugiyama and Nakamura executed a stunning dunk that left the crowd in awe.
Akizuki was a strong team, but Nakamura was rated slightly better than Takeshi, though not quite at Chang Cheng's level. Chang Cheng had lost to Shoyo three times in a row, and Akizuki simply couldn't match Shoyo's current strength.
From the beginning, Nakamura and his teammates took the lead, setting the tone and controlling the game's rhythm.
After the dunk, Shoyo quickly transitioned to defense, showcasing their growing maturity.
Akizuki's small forward took the ball but missed his shot under Nakamura's pressure. Oshima grabbed the rebound and passed to Nakamura, who finished the fast break with another dunk.
Akizuki's defense was solid, but it wasn't enough to stop Sugiyama. Even when double-teamed, Sugiyama used his height and strength to score, whether with a hook shot, a forced dunk, or a pass to Oshima or Nakamura. In short, Akizuki had no effective way to contain him.
Shota Sugiyama of Shoyo was making a name for himself in the National League.
Meanwhile, Akizuki's offense struggled against Shoyo's twin towers. Without guaranteed rebounds and constantly threatened by blocks in the paint, Akizuki was completely overwhelmed by Shoyo's pace and strategy.
"Sugiyama seems to have gotten even better," Okabe remarked, wiping cold sweat from his brow. The Hainan team had rushed to watch Shoyo's game after observing the Mountain Kings' match.
"Yeah, there aren't many centers in high school basketball who can stop Sugiyama now," Takato said grimly. He didn't voice his other concern: Sugiyama was only a sophomore. Could Hainan handle him next year? Why did he have to go to Shoyo?
"It looks like Shoyo will have no trouble reaching the Elite Eight this year," Otsu commented.
"Not just the Elite Eight," Okabe added. "I'm not sure Luo An can beat them either."
"Shoyo's center is incredible. Akizuki's players can't stop him from scoring, and his defense is rock-solid. It looks like Akizuki is done," said one of the Luo An players who had come to watch the game after the Mountain Kings' match. They had expected to scout Akizuki, but Shoyo had given them a big surprise.
"It looks like Shoyo will be competing with us for a spot in the quarterfinals," Luo An's coach said. "It's a good thing we came to see this match. Otherwise, we wouldn't have known what to expect. We'll need to gather more information on Shoyo after this game."
The final score was 105:68, with Shoyo once again winning by a large margin and advancing to the Round of Sixteen. Kudo earned 300 SD points, 100 more than in the previous round.
With two consecutive dominant victories—including a win over last year's Elite Eight team, Akizuki—Shoyo had become the biggest dark horse of the tournament. Their performance had already attracted the attention of the powerhouse teams, and it remained to be seen how far Shoyo could go.
In the next round, Shoyo would face Hokuto Shisho, one of the host teams from Fukuoka, rated B by Basketball Weekly. Based on their first two games, Hokuto Shisho appeared mediocre and unlikely to pose a serious challenge to Shoyo. It was safe to say that Shoyo was already a strong contender for the Elite Eight.